The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-12-25
FOR GIRLSWH0 SCRIBBLE
CHATS WITH MRS. LAURA HoLLO-
WAY AND MRS. FRANK LESLIE.


Bits of Advice For Would-Be Writer'S
Don't Deluge People With Manu-
script Because You Want a New
Bonnet-Some of the Requisites for
Success and Few of the Difficulties
In the Way.
copyrighted 1881
New YORK, Dec 24-Every tenth young
woman, so one is tempted to believe at
times, wishes to write, thinks she can write
and asks some other woman, some success
full literary woman, how and what to write.
There are few who receive more of these
appeals than does Mrs. Laura c. Holloway.
AS a journalist who, during her years of
service on the editorial staff of the Brook
lyn Eagle, gave a striking demonstration of
the possibilities of a woman'S success in
newspaper work, as writer of many books,
as successful editor of successful maya
zines, and above all, as a woman who has
thought much and done much for the devel-
opment, the education and the pro
gress Of women, her advice and
are sought by literary aspirants-bright,
ambitious girls and weary, disappointed
women-by every mail. Mrs. Holloway is
not a woman who likes to appear i'll the
personal mention" column and she has a
natural aversion to the modern torture rack
employed in the interview; but asked her
in the course of a half hours chat some few
days since what answer she found it possible
to return to women who are trying to be-
heve that they have a future in literature.
She told me that she had upward of POO
letters from strangers, accumulated within
two or three months, all asking for criti-
cism, opinions, help toward making living
by the pen
at is partly because of the new activity
of Southern women" she said, land partly,
| suppose, because | am a Southerner my
self, but large proportion of my letters
come from the South These letters are,
for the most part, earnest and strong APP
peals for guidance, and in every instance,
without exception, the desire is expressed
of coming to New York and seeking en-
ployment on the best known magazines
weekles or dailies. Invariably | answer,
discouraglng this plan and advising aspi-
rants to write for their home publications
Many send me manuscripts, and such
dainty ones, scented with Florida water or
lavender leaves, come to me sometimes that
| return them at once, fearing the effect
upon their owners nerves, in case the story
or poem should be refused by some hard
hearted publisher. One woman sent me
three novels; another, a novel and play,
and third mailed me thirty poems, mostly
on birds and flowers. The labor of return
ing such manuscript is great beside the tire
some necessity of replying to many of the
letters.n
"And what counsel do you give the
would-be litterateursp'
my advice is always to persevere until
the writer is absolutely convinced that there
is no market for her work; and the proof
will be found in her ability or failure to sell
what she writes. If / discover a specially
good contributor counsel the right publ
cation to try, and sometimes do what lies
in my power to start a bright girl ON her
way. There are other difficulties though
than those of producing good matter.
have in mind young woman in North
Carolina who sent me story and play
which passed on to Mr.. DAILY and which
Mr.. DAILY did not use. She wrote me that
she saw no possible use in persevering in
efforts, since she could not afford to write a
single short story, even if she had the GER
tam prospect of its being accepted and paid
for, for the price for which people could
buy whole set of Dickens or Thackery.
The lack of an international copyright and
the cheap reproduction of English novels
are tremendous obstacles to the success of
native writer's"
But suppose your young aspirant re-
fuses to be daunted," questioned, what is
it possible to say to her thenp
There are more women writing to-day
than ever before in the worlds history, and
for those who mean to be workers and give
their best years to the business there is a
field. In this as in all careers success de-
ponds upon the character and motives of the
worker, and am sorry to say that the ma
ioyifx of tho xuhn cly ma 70 Land
them hand are wholly unprepared to meet
the requirements of the calling. But disin-
clination to begin in the right way is their
fault, and it is one not wholly confined to
women. Young men-and weak ones of
any age-are given to the idea that how
ever much other people may have delved,
they are to reach at one bound the reputa-
ton and pecuniary success they desire. TO
all to whom | write at all repeat the old
tIuism that there is ample room at the top,
and there is much credit in striving III that
direction"
do you believe there is future for
women on the newspapersm
Certainly. Women are doing a better
class of newspaper work every day. A
Washington editor told me no long time
ago that women could do society gossip
much better than men, but that it was ex-
tremely difficult to find a reliable woman
L
said to him that / never heard more of a
compliment paid to our sex. Women like
to do solid work. and it is work worth do
ing that they are looking for. The anony-
nous character of newspaper writing is
good for women. They need to learn to
sink their personality. and say what is to
be said on its own merits"
l took the same queries which | had put
Mrs. Holloway to Mrs. Frank Leslie, the
proprietor of the Leslie publications, in her
Park place den.
Mrs. Leslie is a woman who gets out ten
different publications, who has 1000 manu-
scripts offered to her in the course of twelve
months and who rays about $l25, 900 for ac-
cepted matter in the same length of time.
She is a woman who employs 400 editors,
craftsmen, artists and other workers and
who does busy days work h rself, super
intending everything, making all the more
important decisions, keeping regular Office
hours from until 4, and who, in spite of
all these responsibilities, is a rare specimen
of thoroughly healthy woman, who can
under pressure of labor, limit herself to four
hours sleep at night, take a cold bath and
brisk gymnastic exercise in the morning
and come down as smooth of skin, as bright
of eye, as unrutiied and as gently feminine
as If she had nothing heavier to think of
than a bit of lace to buy.
She laughed when ! asked her IL she ever
came in contact with people who want TO
write.
''All the world wants to write" she said
''Girls are praised for their compositions at
school. They are told that they write good
Iafto,-c v,roba hlry fhax dr. most itIe